The Other Avatar Book Two: Darkness Reborn
by LittleMissMycroft
Summary: In a world of chaos, two people must find a perfect balance between light and dark that leaves the world in harmony. Sadly, this is a lot harder than it sounds. Follow the characters of this story as they discover what it means to carry the weight of the world on their shoulders. Will officially start in Season Three of the Legend of Korra (with the exception of the prologue).
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own _the Legend of Korra_ , nor do I own any of its characters, ideas, or make money from it. I simply use their ideas for wonderful stories.**

 **First thing readers need to know is that this story is a sequel. This is the second installation of what I plan to be four. The first is called _Other Avatar Book One: the Darkness Within_. You don't necessarily have to read it before you read this one, but I highly recommend it. The Darkness Within is a bit sloppy as I have improved my writing style since then, but there is a good amount of information in it that would help you understand this story-the prologue especially.**

 **Just for a bit of background, this story starts during Harmonic Convergence of Season Two of _the Legend of Korra_. I would also advice you watch that before reading this. If you don't want to, _Spoiler Ale_ r _t_ : Korra's uncle, Unalaq, fused with a giant evil spirit and became a second Avatar, the dark Avatar. She fought him and he made her normal-she's not the Avatar anymore. I'll explain this in my chapter, but that's what happened just before this. I am saying this now because since Korra isn't a central character in the plot of this story, I don't explain in much detail.**

 **Now, without further ado, I give you the first installation of _The Other Avatar Book Two: Darkness Reborn_. Read, review, enjoy, and all that good stuff!**

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 **Prologue: The Light and the Darkness**

Korra sucked in a gasp of air and opened her eyes to see four figures standing over her. As she shot upright, the figures' blurred shapes became more defined. Beside her, Bolin and Mako did the same. Tenzin, Bumi, and Kya looked down on them. However, the fourth person she did not recognize. She had long white hair that was pulled back in an intricate—yet slightly frizzy, as though she had slept in it—knot with lots of braids and such running towards it. The woman also wore red robes and had yellow eyes—sort of like Iroh's—only there was a green ring around her irises. She was old—certainly as old as Katara, and she seemed pale, but also strong—like she was in pain but was forcing herself to stay upright.

Seeing her eyes linger on the strange woman, Tenzin gestured to her and said, "Korra, may I introduce you to Avatar Ellie?" As he said this, he took Korra's hand and helped her up.

"Avatar…" Korra trailed off, confused. "Avatar Ellie? But I thought she was…"

Not wanting to say it, she trailed off awkwardly.

"Dead?" Ellie asked with a kind smile. "I know. I should die soon—that is, twelve years before now."

Korra, too distressed to be confused, decided to roll with it. Her eyes lingered on the old woman for just a second. She never quite fully understood why there were two Avatars before, but now she had to wonder. What spirit was inside her? When did they fuse? Every story she had ever heard about her past life had always been vague when it came to the appearance of Ellie. She shook her head and looked to Tenzin.

"Did you rescue Jinora?" she asked.

"I was able to rescue her soul," Tenzin replied. "But she wasn't ready to return to her body yet. She sensed the world was in danger."

"She was right," Korra sighed, her thoughts going to why she had been knocked out. She sat heavily on a nearby rock.

"Were you able to stop your uncle, and Vaatu?" Tenzin asked.

"No," she muttered. "They fused. Then Vaatu ripped Raava right out of me and destroyed her." She looked down, hugging her arms to her body. "Vaatu won."

"I'm too young to live in eternal darkness!" Bolin exclaimed. "Korra, can't you talk to one of your past lives or something?"

"When Vaatu destroyed Raava, he severed my connection to all of the past Avatars."

"If that's true," Tenzin started, "then—"

"The cycle is broken," she said, her throat constricted as she fought back tears. "It's over. I'm the last Avatar." She finally lost her battle as tears began spilling over her eyelids and down her face. "I'm so sorry, Tenzin."

As she began sobbing, Avatar Ellie's eyes softened and she stepped forward. Kneeling before the young girl, she said, "It's all right, Korra."

"No, it's not," Korra cried.

"Light can never fully be destroyed," Ellie said softly. "Even though Raava is gone, a piece of her still lives on. Not much—but enough. Darkness won't reign forever."

"But it will for a while," Korra said softly.

"Not if you stop him." Korra's tears stopped and she looked up at the old woman. "I know Raava is gone, but you have to figure out who _you_ are. You need to find the spirit within you."

"Weren't you listening? Raava isn't inside me anymore."

"No, I didn't mean Raava," Ellie retorted. "I meant _your_ spirit. Raava doesn't define who you are. Let go of who you _think_ you are."

Ellie thought back to a time when she had struggled to gain mastery over Vaatu. She had only been able to accept him as a part of her and control him after she had found her _own_ spirit.

"Come with me," Tenzin said softly as he walked up to stand beside the kneeling form of his family's friend.

Ellie took hold of Korra's smooth hands in her own bony ones. She gently pulled the young girl to her feet and the two of them followed Tenzin—Aang's son. It had been a decade since Ellie had last seen him—in this time anyway—he looked a bit wiser and a bit grayer. Ellie supposed it came from having multiple children. Finally, they came to stop in front of the Tree of Time, the great tree that stood in between the two Spirit Portals. Ellie looked at it. She thought she caught the glance of an orange robe and white tufty hair, but then it vanished in the blink of an eye. She turned back to the other two.

"Why have you brought me to Vaatu's prison?" Korra asked.

"It isn't just Vaatu's prison," Tenzin replied. "Long before that it was used by the ancients for a different purpose. It is called—"

"The Tree of Time," Ellie breathed.

"Yes," Tenzin nodded, not seeming surprised at all that Ellie knew of it. "The legends say that its roots bind the Spirit and Physical worlds together."

"And you think this tree can help me somehow?" Korra asked.

"Yes," Tenzin affirmed. "I have read that long ago the ancients would meditate beneath this tree and connect with the great cosmic energy of the universe."

He used airbending to propel himself to the edge of the tree's hollow. Korra and Ellie followed. Within the hollow's depths, images played and swirled. Little clips ran through many different times. Korra stepped into it and the images cleared into ones of her.

"These are my memories," she breathed.

"The Tree of Time remembers all," Ellie replied.

"Korra, the most powerful thing about you is not the spirit of Raava," Tenzin continued, "but your own inner spirit. You have always been strong, unyielding, and fearless."

Before them, the image of a man appeared.

"Avatar Wan!" Korra exclaimed.

"Before he fused with Raava, Wan was just a regular person."

Ellie looked up at the man. So this was Aang's first life? She had heard about him via Spirit Scroll, which she had gotten from the Library, but had never seen him close up.

"But Wan was so good, and brave, and smart, and always wanted to defend the helpless," Korra said softly.

Everything Unalaq, the first dark Avatar, was not.

"That's right," Tenzin agreed, interrupted Ellie's thoughts. "He became a legend because of who he was, not what he was. He wasn't defined by Raava any more than you are."

Korra turned to see the image of Unalaq tearing down Aang's statue. Ellie's eyebrows drew down in anger as the young girl gasped beside her and exclaimed, "Republic City is in danger!"

"You have to help them, Korra," Ellie said.

"How?" Korra asked. "They're halfway around the world!"

"Do as the ancients once did," Tenzin replied. "Connect to the cosmic energy of the universe. Don't bend the elements, but the energy within yourself."

"You really think I can do this?" Korra asked.

"We know you can," Ellie smiled.

Korra leaned forward and wrapped Tenzin in a hug. Then, she pulled back and looked at both Tenzin and Ellie. "Thank you for not giving up on me," she smiled.

"I'm very proud of you," Tenzin replied.

With that, he and Ellie turned away and walked to the tree's edge once more as Korra sat in its heart, meditating. As they joined the others, who had gathered at the foot of the tree, they turned back to see an enormous blue spirit emerge from the Tree of Time—it was Korra. With huge strides, the spirit walked over to the portal arc and lifted a hand to a point on it about halfway up. Then, she disappeared with a flash of blue light.

With her gone, Tenzin finally addressed the elephant in the room.

"Ellie, it's good to see you."

"And it's nice to see you," Ellie smiled. "I suppose you're wondering why I'm here?" They all nodded. "I am currently seventy-two years old. I felt that my time was drawing near, so I requested to be brought here for one last adventure."

"Requested?" Kya asked curiously.

"The Time Spirit," she replied. "He is the physical embodiment of this tree. He sees all and forgets nothing. He was the one that brought me to the past—to your father's time. I asked him to bring me here before I died."

"Why?"

"Vaatu must be stopped," Ellie replied. "I know he will be defeated—otherwise, _my_ time would have been much different."

"I'm not following," Bolin said. "Who are you?"

"I am Ellie—the Dark Avatar."

"What?" Bolin and Mako exclaimed.

"Vaatu was defeated," she explained, "but a part of him lived on, much like a part of Raava is still alive now. He drifted off into the empty void of time and, when he grew strong enough, latched onto a child—me—creating the second Dark Avatar. Now, in choosing to stay in the past I have changed time. I have decided to take it upon myself to absorb all that remains of Vaatu—with me here, he will latch onto the largest embodiment of himself—and the Dark Avatar will live on through me in this time. This will make sure that there will never be two Dark Avatars at once—something that would certainly upset the delicate balance we try to maintain."

"You're creating a paradox," Tenzin breathed.

"Yes," Ellie nodded. "Sealing my fate in this time, and giving my future self a chance."

"But the future you—" Mako said slowly. "She won't even be you anymore."

"She will be happy," Ellie retorted. "Now, we need to get going."

They turned back toward the portal only to see hundreds of dark spirits flooding towards them.

"They're coming for Korra!" Mako exclaimed, remembering that Korra's body was still inside the tree.

At the spirits' proximity, Ellie felt Vaatu well up inside her. She let a few tendrils of fire to escape from her fingers in order to relieve pent up energy. Then, as they neared enough, she willingly went into the Avatar State. Her eyes glowed orange and she lifted her hands, splaying her fingers and moving her arms in fluid motions. Water rose out of the nearby creek and swirled around the spirits in a large spiral. Purple energy slowly filtered through the water, surrounding the spirits.

"What are you doing?" Bumi shouted. "They're already dark enough!"

"I'm doing what I can!" she exclaimed.

Then, she released the water. The dark spirits all stopped and sunk towards the ground, where they all bent over.

"Are they dead?" Kya asked, concern filling her blue eyes.

"No," Ellie said bitterly. "Only assuming their rightful places as dark spirits—bowing down to me."

"I knew that Unalaq could control the spirits to some extent—" Mako mused, his eyes growing wide.

"They sensed the dark potential of his spirit and obeyed it," Ellie told them as they walked through the rows and rows of bowing spirits. "Much like they sense the sheer power of Vaatu within me. Vaatu made them like this, therefore they would never attack a part of him."

They finally walked out through the portal. Ellie shifted warily. "I can feel him tugging me," she said. "Like he wants me to join him."

"But you're not...?" Bolin exclaimed. Then, in a smaller voice he asked, "Right?"

"No," Ellie shook her head. "But I can help."

She sat down before the spirit portal and closed her eyes. Meditating on her own spirit, she then opened them again and saw that she was high in the air. Before her, Korra and Vaatu were grappling. It seemed like Korra was struggling. Ellie ran forward and separated the two of them, shoving Vaatu back.

"Who are you?" he asked, peering at Ellie's orange, glowing form.

"I'm what you'll become," Ellie said. "Take a good look. This is the person that will master you."

Then, there was a flash of light as a little ball appeared before them—inside was a tiny girl dressed in air nomad clothing—she must have been Aang's granddaughter. Then, there was a blinding flash of light. Ellie clutched her chest and fell to her knees, and Korra's eyes widened. There, in Vaatu's heart, appeared a tiny yellow ball. It wasn't much, but it was enough. Ellie realized that this was the moment Vaatu gained the ability to use all four elements—the moment Raava was at his heart, rekindled like a flame set to life.

Korra realized the same thing and rushed forward, shoving her hand into Vaatu's chest and pulling out the light spirit. Raava floated above her head as she began waterbending spirals of water around Vaatu. Ellie watched from where she sat on her knees as a white light crept up the water and through Vaatu himself. Then, as he dissolved, orange balls of light whizzed in a circular formation, and then went into Ellie. At that, there was a flash of light and, as she zoomed towards her body, the words, "Go in peace," rang in her ears.

OA

"I don't have much more time," Ellie said, looking at Zuko. "Will you tell the children and grandchildren I love them?"

"And great-grandchildren," Zuko smiled. "Ashton and Edmund. They're blonde—and wild." Ellie laughed. "I don't fully understand you, Ellie Jones, and I still don't fully understand how all of this has happened, but I'm glad it has. And I'm glad you came to say goodbye."

"We'll see each other again," Ellie replied. Then, she turned back to see the Time Spirit standing behind her. "I'm ready."

The monkey said nothing—only reached out a hand towards Ellie. She took it, and everything faded away. When her sight returned again, she saw her youngest son, Yukin, bending over her.

"Zuko?" she asked weakly, stretching out a hand towards the young man who looked so very much like her husband.

"No, Mother," the man in his upper forties said softly, taking her hand. "It's Yukin. Father is out helping the Avatar—said something about four criminals?"

"That's right," Ellie said, leaning back onto her pillows. "Will you tell them to look for him?"

"For Father?" Yukin asked.

"For the next one," Ellie shook her head. "The one after me."

"The next—the next _Avatar_?" Ellie nodded. "Oh, Mother, don't talk like that!"

"But I must," Ellie said insistently, shaking his hands slightly as she leaned forward. "You must take care of him—make sure he doesn't end up like I did."

"Mother, what are you talking about?"

"You'll see," Ellie whispered, leaning back against her pillows again. "You'll see…"

She felt very tired after her whole ordeal. Slowly, her eyes drifted shut.

"Mother!" Yukin exclaimed. "Mother, stay with me!"

But it was too late. Ellie had already joined Aang in the Spirit World. She had beat him by four years. That was enough for her.

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 **Next chapter, we'll be meeting the next Dark Avatar for the first time. Review with questions if you have any, and try to guess who the next incarnation of Ellie will be. I hope that you will read on to the next chapter (once I post it), and in the mean time that you will follow my story!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	2. Part 1: The Avatar and the Thief

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra.**

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 **Chapter One: The Avatar and the Airbending Thief**

All of Kai's admittedly short life, he had to depend on himself. He had been an orphan for as long as he could remember. He lived in an orphanage in a desert town in the middle of nowhere. He hated that place. The kids picked on him—he was one of the few nonbenders in the place. It seemed that everyone always wanted to adopt an earthbender. So nonbenders like Kai were left out and picked on. Of course, the matron tried to reassure him that he was just a late bloomer. But twelve and still not unlocked his bending? He might as well not even be a bender if his powers were that weak.

Some of the workers at the orphanage were nice to him, but most could care less. There were days when he was late to a meal (of which they already didn't have much of, just a bowl of rice twice a day) and the others kids would eat all of the portions, leaving none for him. Hunger was what taught Kai how to steal. First he started nicking food from traveling fruit carts, and then he began stealing money in order to buy himself new clothes or real food.

But when he was nearly thirteen, he was finally adopted.

Kai didn't trust them. Why would someone want to adopt a twelve year old nonbender like him? But apparently these people were a well-known name in town—to people who cared about things like that, anyway—with lots of money. Maybe he could nick some money and skip town? They didn't love him anyway. They only pretended to. He could tell that they had just bought him to look good. Who didn't like rich people who had a soft spot in their hearts for unwanted orphans? Kai didn't—he couldn't care less.

So, one night he found the family safe, nicked a sack full of gold, and made a run for it. They probably didn't even discover it was missing until the next day, by which time he had already left town. Only the authorities were sent after him. They found him sitting on the side of the road, cracking into his food that he had shoved in the bag (also a curtesy of his adopted "parents").

"So this is how you repay kindness?" the sheriff asked. "By stealing?"

"What?" Kai asked. "No! You must have me confused with someone else!"

The man held out a poster with Kai's face on it, glancing at the deputy beside him.

"What do you think?" he asked. "Think we got the wrong kid?"

The deputies all laughed. Anger swelled up in him like an untamable beast. They just didn't understand. How could they? They all had loving families that they were born into, people they knew that cared about them, and a home to live in. All Kai had were the clothes on his back and the life he made for himself. So what if he made it by stealing? What was so wrong with that? How was that any different from rich people like the Earth Queen stealing money from towns like his that needed it?

As they laughed, the young boy slowly backed away. Then, he ducked under the arm of the nearest deputy and made a run for it.

"Hey!" the sheriff exclaimed. "Get him!"

Kai didn't even chance a look behind him. All he could focus on were the pounding of his footsteps on the hard, dry ground, and the sharp gasping of his breath. Then, he nearly screamed as his feet began to slide out from under him. The pathways in these parts weren't particularly known for having landslides, but it wasn't uncommon either. It was just Kai's luck that his feet pattered on an unstable ledge of dirt above a drop—something that could only cause a landslide.

He managed not to scream, but let out a series of grunts as he fell head-over-heels, rolling and tumbling with the dirt and rocks. Then, he saw the rocky bottom of the gully he had fallen into. This time, he did let out a yell, which was cut short as he squeezed his eyes shut and…

He was still alive? Kai slowly opened his eyes. He wasn't falling anymore. In fact, he was lying face down on what appeared to be a cushion of air—if the air hadn't been there, he would have surely died.

As Kai's thoughts formulated into a coherent mass, and he was no longer thinking of falling, the air pocket dissipated and he let out a groan as he fell the remaining six inches onto the ground, catching himself with his hands. He hissed as he saw he had cut them up a little. Then, the boy attempted to stand up, promptly tripped on a rock, and a blast of air streamed past his fingertips as he fell onto his butt.

Had he caused that? Kai looked down at his hands in confusion. Then, he thrust his hands out. Air flew from them, rustling the dry weeds and dissipating against the wall of the gully. He was an…airbender? Maybe that was why it had taken so long for his bending to manifest. But he thought that airbending was all-but extinct? How was he an airbender?

Kai shook his head. That didn't matter. All that mattered was that he was an airbender. How could he use this to his advantage? Certainly it would make it easier to nick things—he could run away faster too, no doubt, if he used airbending. He stopped as a few rocks tumbled to a halt at his feet. Kai drew close to the wall of the gully, hiding in a spot of particularly thick shadows. Above him, he could hear voices. They were very faint, but his young ears could just make out the words.

"Think he went down there?" the deputy was no doubt asking about the gulley.

"There's no path down," another replied. "The only person who could get down there would be a skilled earthbender or an airbender. If he tried, he'd probably fall and break his neck. Let's try the next town over. He's probably heading for there."

Well, there went his plans of going to the next town. He'd probably try the town after that. Or walk down this gulley and see where it got him. At least those thugs didn't know where he was anymore. Kai waited for them to pass on and, when he was sure they were out of earshot, headed in the opposite direction down the ravine.

Luckily, he found a town before his food supply ran out. He spent the next few months buying himself food, stealing a few things, and then skipping to the next town. He was sure he was making his way in a circle, but somehow, Kai thought that was a good idea. Maybe if he went to the town where the cops had first searched for him, he would be overlooked.

Kai's thirteenth birthday came and went—not much of an occasion to him, since he never celebrated his birthday before, anyway. Then, he finally made it back to that town—the one that was right by the really steep ravine. Unfortunately, he hadn't been in town long when he heard word that the police were coming back. But, as fate would have it, someone else arrived in that town the very same day—and they had a balloon. If he couldn't think of anything else, he could always stow away on their blimp.

He watched from the edge of the square as the balloon's inhabitants debarked from it and put on a talent show for airbending of all things, advertising for new recruits. Maybe it would be even easier to board that blimp than he had initially thought. As the crowd dispersed, Kai ran up.

"Hey!" he called, stopping them as they had started turning back to their balloon. "Hello! If you're looking for airbenders, you just found one." He gave them the best 'cute little kid smile' he could. Then, he demonstrated a few slices of air for them to prove he was an airbender. "I wanna join you guys!"

They looked very eager—and very gullible. This would be easy. All he would have to do was slip away as soon as they stopped somewhere else and continue his life as normal—away from the police officers of this dreadful area. Then, as he listened to their explanation of their plans, he grew even more excited. They were going to Ba Sing Se. How easy would it be to slip away in a big city like that? There would probably be little hope of being found again by this girl who claimed to be the Avatar and her airbending friends.

"Just to be totally clear," the Avatar girl said, sounding suspicious for the first time, "we're going to be heading to Ba Sing Se, then the Northern Air Temple to live as nomads, and rebuild the air nation. All that sound good to you?"

Kai nodded vigorously, "Yeah, yeah. Ba Sing Se, temple, rebuild air nomad what-do-you-do, I'm in! Let's go right now!"

He pulled the kid-smile again.

"This is going to be so great!" the stocky, green-eyed one exclaimed, jumping for joy. "—Uh—real quick—what's your name?"

"Kai," he smiled. "So, when do we hit the road?"

"Hang on a second, Kai," the old bearded one said slowly. "Where are your parents? We can't have you come with us without their permission."

"My parents are…"

He trailed off. What should he say? Deciding to play the sympathy card, he fed them some cock-and-bull story about his parents dying to protect him from bandits—yeah, bandits sounded good. And then, he said that the bandits were still after him. That would explain his antsy behavior, and take care of the police in one go.

Of course, it worked like a charm. They all gave him sad smiles and patted him on the back, telling him everything would be all right—which it would if they would just leave already. However, he was spared the worry of them spending more time in that town as they boarded the blimp. He even let the stocky, excitable one wrap his arm around him and say his whole, "You're stepping into a new life once you board this aircraft," spiel.

How could it be this easy?

But he should have known it was too good to be true as the tall dark one walked over to the window and said, "Guys? I think we got trouble."

Kai looked out the window at the police, riding their little motorcycles.

"The outlaws!" he exclaimed, not having to fake his wide-eyed worry. "They're after me!" He tugged on the Avatar's arm. "Let's get outta here!"

"We're not running from anyone," the girl muttered.

Kai bit his lip, watching as she said, "If you want Kai, you'll have to go through me first!"

They would find out that he was really a thief from these cops, surely. Maybe he could use the distraction to sneak out? That sounded good. Kai slowly shouldered his money bag and quickly surveyed the ship. Everyone was watching through the windows as the Avatar fought the police. Spotting an open window, Kai decided that it was now or never. He silently slipped over to the window and slid out, using airbending to cushion his fall. Then, he ran around the backside of the blimp and headed for the path that led out of town.

"Where do you think you're going?"

Kai let out a shout of fright, dropping his money bag. There was a flash of fire, and one of the guys from the air balloon appeared from behind the hedges lining the pathway.

"I was just going to the bathroom!" he exclaimed.

The man picked up his bag, where Kai could see a glimmer of gold spill out. The young man noticed it too and looked into the bag.

"I found it on the side of the road, honest!" Kai exclaimed as the man looked at him questioningly. "I was going to turn it in to the sheriff for him to find its owners when I heard about the bandits coming to town and I panicked!"

The tall young man looked at him suspiciously.

"We'll see," he finally grunted, grabbing Kai by the scruff of his shirt and dragging him towards the blimp.

He struggled slightly, but felt a pang of satisfaction at seeing that the Avatar had roughed up those pesky cops quite a bit. He caught her exchange with the cop and realized that the cat was officially out of the bag. The man clenching the scruff of his shirt was looking at him with frustration now.

"Where's Kai?" he heard the Avatar ask.

"Right here!" his captor called. "I found him trying to slip away!"

"I was going to the bathroom!" he argued.

"With your sack of gold?" the man retorted, holding up Kai's bag and then tossing it onto the ground where its contents spilled out for the world to see.

"I told you, I found that on the road!"

"Enough with the lies, kid," he muttered. "I want the truth!"

"The truth is, he's the outlaw," the police officer told them. Kai bit back the urge to stick his tongue out at him. "He's spent his entire childhood as an orphan until he got adopted by a really nice family about six months ago. And how did he repay them? By taking their entire life savings."

They only saw Kai as a status symbol. What did it matter if he left and took a little insurance for his way?

"Is that true?" the Avatar asked sternly.

He searched their faces quickly, and then said, "The person that stole that stuff was the old me. Once I got airbending, I changed. I don't know how to explain it, but I feel like airbending chose me for a reason. Like I'm a new person!" Which was partly true. While he hadn't quite repented of his ways, he did feel different. More…free. Like airbending chose him and set him free. The cops began dragging him away and he exclaimed, "I'm sorry! Please! Don't let them take me! You have to listen to me!"

"A-are you taking him back to the orphanage?" the cheerful one asked hesitantly.

"No, he's headed to jail."

Kai struggled as they began dragging him away again.

"Wait!" It was the Avatar that had spoken. She looked at Kai with sad, pitying blue eyes. "You guys got the family's life savings back. Now, let us take Kai. We'll deal with him."

"Do you really want our first recruit to be a thief and a liar?" the bald one asked.

Kai's hope swelled as the girl replied, "He just needs some guidance, Tenzin. And who better to give it to him than us?"

"Do you want this kid or not?" the chief asked.

There was a long pause.

"Yes," the bald one said. "You may release the boy into our custody."

The deputies let go of him and he ran forward, throwing his arms around the Avatar, exclaiming, "Thank you!"

"Don't make me regret it," she replied as others crowded in to join the hug.

"Welcome to the family, little bro!" the green-eyed perky one exclaimed.

At the familiar growl of the motorcycle engines, Kai's heart lifted—he really was free. He happily followed the others back towards the blimp. However, before he could set foot on the plank, a hand turned him around. He looked up into the face of the young man that had caught him earlier.

"I just want you to know," he said, "I'm gonna be watching you, kid. I know exactly what you're all about, because I've been there before. You don't have me fooled."

"Woah," Kai replied, backing up. "Hey, lighten up. I'm turning over a new leaf, making a change. Don't you worry about me."

But it seemed that he'll be needing to worry about this guy—he was too sharp for his own good. Kai drew to a stop as the youngest girl—one that had to be about his age, said, "Hi, I'm Jinora. I-if you need any help with airbending I could show you what I know."

"Thanks," he smiled, looking at her brown eyes and tugging nervously on his suspender straps. "That's real nice of you."

"Jinora!" the bald one called from inside the blimp. "We're leaving now!"

And with that, he followed his fellow airbender onto the blimp and on towards a new life—one where Kai could blend into a crowd and not be noticed, just the way he liked it.

OA

Lord Zuko looked down at the empty cage cell in the center of the prison that once held one of the most dangerous waterbenders in the world. He said nothing as the White Lotus guard explained to him that she had escaped. Zuko couldn't tell if the man beside him was sweating from nervousness, or the waves of heat that rose from the volcano.

"I'm so sorry sir!" he finally cried, confirming that the former was true. "They came out of nowhere."

But "sorry" wouldn't get Ming-Hua back—"sorry" wouldn't keep the Avatar safe.

"How could you let this happen?" he hissed quietly, his eyes not moving from the lava below.

"They caught us by surprise!" the man said firmly. "And Zaheer is an airbender now."

Zuko finally looked up from the pit and at the man beside him. His golden eyes narrowed as he exclaimed, "No—This can't be. Do you have any idea the power these criminals possess? Individually, they could take down any bender—put them all together, and they could take down the entire world. And now you're telling me their leader is an airbender?"

"We could track them!" the young man suggested.

"We don't need to track them," the old man retorted. As he walked away towards the door, he continued, "I know exactly where they're going next. Notify the new chiefs of the Northern Water Tribe that an attack on their prison is eminent, and send word to Lin Beifong in Republic City—the Avatar must be protected."

He climbed up onto his dragon and the White Lotus guard asked, "Where are you going?"

"I'm going to stop them," he replied, nudging the dragon with his knees and the beast took off. But first he needed to get a few people together.

* * *

 **So, tell me what you think! I hope that I portrayed Kai's character right.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	3. Part 1: Losing His Way in Ba Sing Se

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra**

* * *

 **Chapter Two: Losing His Way in Ba Sing Se**

In the few days it took to fly from Kai's old village to Ba Sing Se, the thirteen year old learned the others' names. The tall brooding one's name was Mako, and the cheerful one that kept calling Kai his brother was _Mako's_ younger brother, Bolin. The bald one with tattoos was Tenzin—he was apparently the old Avatar's son and the old guy's brother. The old guy's name was Bumi. The Avatar's name was Korra, the older girl's name was Asami, and the girl his age was named Jinora.

It was a lot of names to remember, but the ones he remembered the best were Jinora's, Bumi's, and Bolin's—they were the ones he spent the most time with. The very first day he was aboard the airship, he started learning airbending from Jinora and Bumi.

"Light on your feet, Uncle Bumi," Jinora called. "Remember, you want to be quick and evasive!"

Kai tried his very best not to laugh as the wild-haired old man kept punching the air and hopping up and down, his feet going every-which way and his knees sticking out.

"Don't worry about me, little lady!" Bumi said, jumping side to side again. "I've been in a scrape or two myself, you know. Oh, you're just a youngster, so I'm going to go easy on ya."

Well if that was his goal, he was certainly succeeding. He looked very unsteady on his feet. As Bumi kept blabbing, Kai ran forward, threw out his feet, and slid on a pocket of air, kicking the old man's feet out from under him. He fell hard with a shout and laid face down on the floor, grimacing.

"Uncle Bumi, you've _got_ to work on your stance changes," Jinora said, walking forward and grabbing the old man's arm. Kai grabbed his other arm and the two of them helped Bumi up. As he had his hand pressed up against Bumi's side, he felt a hard, square shape.

"Kai," Jinora said as her eyes fell on him. "That was just—really good."

Kai could feel a deep flush creeping into his face and his neck felt very warm. Bumi's eyes darted between the two children. Kai used this moment of distraction to slip the man's wallet into his own shirt.

"Thanks, Jinora," he smiled. "You're a great teacher."

The quiet girl practically hid her face in her uncle's arm as she led him away. Then, Bumi stopped and felt his shirts pockets. Kai couldn't help the smile that grew on his face as Jinora instantly turned and looked at where he was fanning his face with Bumi's wallet. The girl laughed. He stopped, his smile still in place as he continued to fan his face, as Bumi turned and looked at him.

"Give me that, you little thief!" Bumi cried.

Kai laughed and darted away.

"Come get it!" he called.

The older man chased him in circles until he finally slipped into an airbending stance and summoned the wallet with a siphon of air.

"See?" Kai asked as Bumi stuffed the wallet back into his pocket. "That was more like it."

Bumi shook his head and Jinora gave Kai a thumbs up. Bolin ran onto the deck, shouting to his brother. The two of them stopped at the railing. Curious, Kai, Jinora, and Bumi moved to the railing as well.

"It's where our dad grew up!" Bolin exclaimed, pointing to the enormous wall of Ba Sing Se—they were finally there.

"I'm looking," Mako laughed.

"Woah!" Kai breathed, looking down at the enormous city as the balloon rose above the city's outer wall. It was larger than any city he had ever seen in his life. As they continued flying, they could see different parts of the city more closely.

"Wow, the Lower Ring looks terrible," Korra remarked.

"Yeah, I can smell it from here," Bolin muttered. Then as they flew over the second wall, Bolin cried, "Hello, Middle Ring!"

Kai looked at it with interest—it didn't look too bad. Maybe he could rustle up a good amount of money in that place. But, as they flew over a third wall, all thoughts of the Middle Ring left his mind—the Upper Ring was _definitely_ a place he could make a fortune of.

"This is more like it!" he exclaimed with a smile.

Their enormous airship set down, landing beside the Earth Kingdom's own ships. Kai noticed that while the Earth Kingdom ships were green, the one that his "friends" were in was gray. For that matter, Bolin and Mako (who Kai knew grew up in Republic City) wore grey clothes while the others wore colors that matched their birth nation's elements.

Kai didn't really listen much as the Queen's secretary, an old boring looking guy, talked. Instead, he stared at his surroundings. Before them was the enormous Earth Kingdom Palace. To their right was another smaller wall, which held a bunch of fancy looking houses with golden roofs.

The man paused in his talking, and then led them to where the fancy houses were. In the distance, Kai could see some construction. The man babbled out a whole lot of rules that Kai didn't really pay attention to as he continued to look around. They crossed a sparkling koi pond and the boy's eyes lingered on the white and orange fish before lifting up to see a change purse, followed by the woman who was wearing it, and then the golden earrings dangling from her ears.

Now, Kai couldn't resist that. A sitting duck, waiting to get robbed—someone who probably never worked an ounce of her life to gain all those nice things she had on her person—nice things that would be much more treasured by someone like Kai.

He quietly slipped away from the group, and walked over to the woman. Soundlessly, he slipped his hand into her purse as he walked past and stuck his hand, now clenching a wad of money, into his own change purse. As he walked away, his head began scheming of more efficient ways to make quick cash—something that wouldn't have him suspected.

He walked into a square and the first thing he saw was a bakery. He went in and bought himself a nice hot roll. While he ate it, he sat on the bakery's steps and watched people pass by. They were all rich, and almost none of them paid any much attention to their surroundings as they glided serenely about.

No, this would be too easy.

OA

Maybe he shouldn't have come up with a method that was so flashy, Kai thought as he ran. Sure, no one suspected him of anything—who would suspect the sweet little boy that helped out an unfortunate soul that had been caught in a random wind gust? The only problem was that he had been spotted—by Mako and Bolin, no less. Kai growled—he thought he had lost them _ages_ ago. He hadn't expected anyone of them to come _looking_ for a no good thief like him.

He turned and smirked at Mako before sliding underneath a car in a jack-packed alleyway. He had to give it to the older boy, Kai thought as he turned to see Mako jumping over a bunch of cars—he was pretty good. Only Kai was better. While Mako might be street smart, Kai had the advantage of size—or lack thereof.

Kai rolled under Mako's legs as the boy landed in front of him, and ran off down a dark side alley. He ran down the alley, turning right and going up a few flights of stairs. There, he saw a large, shiny platform with a green train sitting off to the side, waiting to depart. With no time to lose, Kai ran onto the train and made his way through the rows of people.

He let out a quiet exclamation of surprise as he walked into someone—it was Mako. Kai smiled nervously up at him with a wave.

"What are you doing, running about robbing people?" Mako asked him loudly.

His eyes darting to the other passengers of the train, who were watching them like they were an interesting mover, he said, "I was just practicing my airbending!"

"Yeah right," Mako muttered. "You're in big trouble."

He grabbed Kai's green jacket and began pulling him off the train. Kai quickly slipped his hands into the two brothers' pockets, grabbed their wallets, and ducked out of his jacket. As he saw that Kai was pulling away, Mako let go of the jacket long enough for Kai to grab it and run—he didn't even think they realized that he had their wallets.

Then, he turned to see the doors of the train close behind him—Mako and Bolin were trapped on that train. Kai smiled and waved at them as the train chugged by. Then, he stuck the wallets in his change purse and headed off to find a new square to work at.

OA

It was the best day Kai ever had, the boy thought as he weaved through the crowd. He stole enough money to buy himself a high-end apartment and lounged around it for a few hours until he began to feel restless again and headed out.

Spotting another potential victim, Kai airbent a gust of air at him. The man shrieked and attempted to pat his outer robe back down. Kai ran forward, put on his best innocent smile, and picked up the man's hat.

"Let me help you sir," he said.

The man thanked him and took his hat back as Kai patted the man's belt, pretending to fix his robes, located a stash of money, and slipped it into his bag. With that, he went off into the nearest dark alley. That should do for the day. He pulled out a sack of gold coins, counting them.

But his smile quickly fell as his eyes lifted and saw the figure of a darkly dressed man standing before him. He turned around and there was another man behind him as well. His eyes darted between them. Then, he made a run for it. He made it to a wooden wall that served as the end of the alley, and was in the process of catapulting over it as he felt something grab his wrists and pull him backwards. The bag of gold fell to the ground, spilling its gleaming contents.

"I wasn't doing anything!" Kai said quickly, struggling as the two men grabbed him and began dragging him away. "Honest! I haven't done anything wrong! I'm with the Avatar!"

OA

Immediately after he left the small volcano that was located on the outskirts of the Fire Nation, Zuko flew back to the Caldera. There, he found his youngest son. "Yukin!" he called. His sixty-year-old look alike stopped, saw the urgency in his eyes, and looked at him quizzically.

"Yes, Father?" he asked.

"Thirteen years ago," Zuko started, "I put four very dangerous, Avatar obsessed criminals behind bars and you came to me later that day and told me…" he trailed off. "And told me that your mother told you to look for her successor."

Yukin nodded warily.

"What have you found?"

"He's supposed to be an airbender," Yukin informed him slowly, "so I naturally checked the airbending kids first—I was unsure if the kid had to be born with it, or if it could hop to them when Mother…" He broke off, eyeing his father. "Anyway, I determined that the child had to be _born_ with the Avatar spirit—it's none of the airbending children. Katara taught me how to feel their chi and—"

"Where is the other Avatar, Yukin?" his father pressed.

"I believe he is in the Earth Kingdom," Yukin replied. "As you know, many people discovered that they had airbending this past year—most of the sightings have been in the Earth Kingdom. I know we've received a few in the Republic, a few in the Fire Nation, and even less in the Water Tribes combined."

"Is there any way you could track the Avatar down?" Zuko asked.

"What happened?" Yukin asked suddenly. "Something must have happened for you to be this worried."

"Those criminals broke out," Zuko told him. "And they're going to be looking for the Avatars— _both_ of them. The new Avatar should be thirteen by now. Old enough for them to be able to find him much easier than they could have in the past."

OA

Kai had no idea where he was—he had been blindfolded the entire way here. Soon he was forced into a drab grey outfit and tossed into a room where there were dozens of dejected looking people.

"Welcome to her Majesty's army," one of the men said. "You now live to fight for the Earth Queen."

Kai's eyes widened as the man pulled the door shut, blocking out all light except the dim light put out by a bracket of crystals that hung on the far wall.

OA

The Water Tribe chieftains reminded Zuko of his great-grandchildren, though he supposed that really the four were polar opposites. While Eska and Desna were dull, dark skinned, and had dark hair; his great-grandchildren were blonde, pale, and had a penchant for mischief. But still, the Fire Lord would have never known that a boy and girl could look so…identical, unless he had met his great-grandchildren or these chieftains.

"Why didn't anyone tell us we have a secret prison we could have been throwing people in?" Eska asked in her usual, monotonous voice.

"I'd like to put my tailor in here," Desna muttered. "He never gets my cuffs right. They're so… _creasy_."

The twins, Zuko, Yukin, and Tonraq (Korra's father) all walked into the elevator at the end of the entrance hall of the prison. As it began its descent, Zuko told them, "We built this place secretly with your father to hold a very—s _pecial_ prisoner. She's a powerful firebender named P'Li that can create powerful explosions with her mind." He paused. "Ironically, I hired a man with similar abilities to kill the Avatar once."

Yukin looked pained, Eska and Desna shared looks, and Tonraq shifted uncomfortably beside Zuko.

"It didn't work," Zuko added.

There was an awkward silence.

"Don't worry," Eska finally spoke up. "I tried to kill the Avatar after she stole my husband from me. It happens."

Eager to change the subject from people trying to kill his daughter or her past lives, Tonraq said, "Let's just focus on keeping this woman in prison."

As he said this, the elevator came to a halt and opened its doors. They stepped out and it felt as though they had suddenly stepped into a tank of freezing water—it was much colder down there than it had been in the entrance hall, or even outside in the snowy tundra. Next to Zuko, Yukin pulled his red fur robe closer to his face.

"Well no one is certainly breaking out of here," Desna remarked as they stepped out onto a metal platform that slowly extended out towards the other side of the prison.

"That's what we thought about the other three prisons," Zuko replied.

As they fell silent, they heard a exhalation of shaky breath—as though its owner was shivering violently—and a woman said, "There must be something exciting going on—no one interesting has visited me for thirteen years."

"Don't get used to it," Tonraq said.

"He's out, isn't he?" the woman asked, bending over so that they could see her twisted smile. "Mm, I'm feeling warmer already."

* * *

 **Hopefully I'll be updating more soon. I've been kinda busy lately...Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I purposefully tried to keep it solely from Kai's point of view (although there was also the bit with Zuko and them, but that doesn't count). There will be a few more mentions of Ellie's family scattered throughout the story-I hope you enjoy them!**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


	4. Part 1: The Beast Awakens

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Legend of Korra**

* * *

 **Chapter Three: The Beast Awakens**

Yukin blew a puff of fire out of his mouth, trying to keep himself warm. He stood with the three Water Tribe chiefs. Beneath their feet was a vast expanse of ice, with a few layers of dusty flakes scattered across it. Every now and then, a light breeze would pick up a few snowflakes and cause them to glide through the air. Behind them was the entrance to the prison, and to their left were mountains. Behind which, clouds were beginning to swirl.

Yukin's father landed the dragon in front of them.

"Did you see him?" Tonraq asked.

"I only saw a large snowstorm heading this way," Lord Zuko told them.

"That's not a snowstorm," Tonraq said, looking at the storm that was billowing beyond the nearest mountains. "That's him."

As the snowstorm emerged through the mountains, Tonraq set off at a run. Yukin, Zuko, Eska, and Desna hastened to follow. They watched as a truck flew out of the storm cloud and with it came a wild looking man who was dressed in grey and had an overall dirty appearance. As the man flew towards them, Tonraq shouted, "I put you away once, Zaheer, and I'm going to do it again!"

With a swing of his arms, he brought water over his head and whipped it at Zaheer. The man bent over, letting the water fly above him, stood upright once more, and knocked Tonraq over with a bout of air. Eska and Desna moved in unison as they fought the strange looking water bender whose only arms were made of water. They conjured spike after spike of ice to shoot at her, steadily growing in size, but somehow she evaded them all, and then encased the two prodigies in ice.

A bit further away, Yukin and Zuko dueled the third one. They shot blast after blast of fire at him while he sent a single disk of earth-turned-lava at them, which they were forced to avoid. Then, the fight rotated enough so that Yukin could see the waterbender drive a spike through the ice and disappear.

"She's getting P'Li out!" Yukin shouted.

This distracted Tonraq long enough for Zaheer to knock him out. The airbender bounded over to the two firebenders to join the fight.

"Druk!" Zuko shouted.

The dragon flew over to where the hole in the ice was just as two heads appeared from it. Druk quickly breathed fire at them. There was a swirling ball of fire that dissipated enough to reveal a woman that was bending it around her—it was the woman from the cell, P'Li, and her friend, Ming-Hua. There was silence, and then an explosion hit the dragon. Ghazan, the earthbender, hit Zuko square in the chest with a large rock, knocking the eighty-something-year-old down. Yukin managed to fire a few more blasts out before he was hit in the back by one of P'Li's blasts.

He fell to the ground with a groan, in too much pain to stop the truck as it drove off once more. As it did so, his eyes slowly drifted shut. When he awoke over twenty minutes later, snow flurries were drifting down on him and gathering on his robes, hair, and eyelashes. He looked up to see his father—who was still shaking him.

"I'm all right," Yukin grunted. Zuko sighed in relief and went over to help Tonraq up. While he did so, Yukin went over and melted the ice that held Eska and Desna.

"We've already warned Republic City," Zuko said. "Now you need to go find the other Avatar. The world may depend on it."

Yukin nodded.

OA

Kai's jaw was set in pure, raw anger as the Dai Li agent droned on and on. He was lined up with other recruits—most of them were much older than him, and some not talented at all. There was another line of airbenders across from him—their opponents for training.

"You are the property of the Earth Queen. You will become an elite fighting force and protect her at all costs." –The way Kai was feeling right now, he'd much sooner kill her the next time he saw her than protect her—"It is your duty to serve the Earth Queen."

They all started fighting their opponents. Kai sent out a slice or two and lifted his leg for a strong kick blast, but the man across from him cringed and pleaded, "Go easy on me! I'm not that good."

Kai's foot fell to the ground as he became torn. Then, he smiled kindly and sent a few weak currents at his opponent. The man smiled back at him, pleased that he wasn't being beat up. Unfortunately, the old Dai Li agent noticed. He walked up behind the young boy and growled, "Never show mercy! Now, attack your opponent like you mean it."

Kai's eyebrows drew down and he reluctantly sent out a large blast that hit the poor man square in the chest. He groaned as he was slammed against the far wall. Kai's eyes softened.

"Sorry," he said.

"A soldier never apologizes to his enemy," the man commanded.

"I'm not a soldier," Kai retorted.

"You will be when I'm through with you."

And the grouch walked off, leaving Kai with his thoughts. He clenched and unclenched his fists, wishing he had some way out of this.

OA

Their Dai Li instructor was earthbending disks at them. The man that Kai had helped earlier was beside him. Most people were getting hit, but Kai managed to block the disks for both himself and the guy next to him.

"Thanks!" he smiled.

"You again!" the instructor shouted, looking at Kai. "If you have time to help your friend, then maybe you're not getting enough rocks for yourself!"

And he threw rock after rock after rock. Kai dodged a few and deflected a few more. As he did so, his anger mounted. Why shouldn't he help someone who needed help, if he was skilled enough for the two of them? Why shouldn't he use his skills? All his frustrations in life, all his self-doubts and self-loathing, all the injustices of the world arose inside him and he wanted to cry out. His anger roared up like a beast that was thirsty and looking to kill.

Then, he saw red. His eyes started glowing orange and he rose into the air, currents of it swirling all around him. The instructor panicked for a second, and then shot out his pair of earthen gloves. The gloves got swept in the wind and several people had to duck as they soared over their heads and impacted the wall. Kai then grabbed the Dai Li agent by the throat.

"Stop!" a girl nearby screamed.

"This isn't like you!" the guy he had helped cried.

Kai's eyes stopped glowing and he sank back to the floor. The Dai Li agent shakily fell to the floor as Kai slumped to the ground unconscious.

"It's like he was possessed or something," the one that Kai had helped muttered.

Not waiting for the little monster to wake up, the Dai Li agent ordered, "Throw him in the hold!"

Another agent grabbed him and slung him over his shoulder. He went to where the individual units were to hold unruly recruits and threw the boy in there—he wouldn't be able to get out with airbending.

Kai woke up seconds later, rubbing his head. He gripped the wooden bench, trying to pull himself up and see where he was. He had no idea what had happened—all he remembered was getting really angry at the instructor, and then waking up in the cell.

He let out a yell of surprise as something—a human-like form—flashed in his cell for the briefest second. It flickered once more, and then solidified. As it did so, Kai realized the form was familiar and cried out, "Jinora?"

"It worked!" she exclaimed happily.

"How are you here right now?" Kai asked warily. Was she a ghost? How could she have died in the day he hadn't seen her? Or had it been longer than a day? Without windows, time passed oddly down there.

"Shh, quiet," she said softly, leaning down. "It's a high-level airbender move with a little spiritual stuff thrown in."

Kai breathed out a sigh of relief.

"I thought you were a ghost for a second there," he smiled.

Jinora laughed. "It's good to see you. We've been looking for you and the other airbenders. We're going to get you all out of here." She glanced around. "Where are we?"

"I don't know," he muttered. "They had me blindfolded when they brought me in—all I know is that it's underground somewhere."

"I'll figure it out," she said, holding out a hand to quiet him and turning to look up. "Don't worry."

"Jinora!" he exclaimed. She stopped and looked back at him again. "Thanks."

Even though she was all blue and ghostly, Kai could tell she was blushing this time—the area on her cheeks near her nose darkened into almost purple as she smiled at him. Then, she looked up again and rose up through the ceiling of his cell.

OA

Kai had no idea how long he waited in that cell, but it felt like an eternity. Finally, his cell door slid open Kai lifted his head from where he had been resting it on his knees and turned to see Mako and Bolin standing there.

"Come on, we're getting you out!" Mako said.

A third voice sounded as Jinora ran from behind him, exclaiming, "Kai!"

She wrapped her arms around him and then pulled back, kissing him on the cheek. His face lit up and felt very hot as Bolin started laughing and said, "Tenzin's not gonna like this!"

"Then don't tell him," Mako said.

"I have to," Bolin sniffed. "This is just too juicy."

"Thanks for coming to get me. I'm really sorry about stealing your wallets…and running away… _aand_ getting you stuck on that train," Kai said, and this time he meant it.

"Augh, we can't stay mad at you," Bolin sighed, hugging Kai.

"Yes we can," Mako argued. "I had a lot of money in that wallet."

"Guys, come on!" Jinora called, dashing off and reminding them that they were in the middle of a rescue operation.

The three boys ran after her and skidded to a halt at the sight of the Dai Li agents.

"He's out!" one of them cried and they all ran away.

"What was that about?" Mako asked.

"Who knows?" Kai asked.

"More like, who cares?" Bolin said. "I'm just glad they aren't attacking us!"

They ran out of the building and into a full onslaught of fire. Kai looked around frantically and saw that everyone was already leaving—they were leaving him! Then Bolin cried, "We need heeeeeelp!" as they ran down the steps of the Earth Queen's temple.

The sky bison flew back down towards them. Once it began doing so, Bolin turned to them and shouted, "Everybody, hang on!" He stopped running and dropped into a crouch, thrusting a fist into the air. Suddenly Kai felt a grin split his face as he found himself flying into the air. Tenzin's bison dropped down below them and caught them, before flying off to join the airships once more.

"Woah," Kai said, looking over the side of the saddle. "That was awesome!"

They could faintly hear the Earth Queen screeching below them, but it didn't matter. They were free.

OA

They flew all night. Kai had no idea when he fell asleep, but when he woke up he was halfway leaning on Bolin and his mouth was wide open. Kai sat up with a stretch and realized why he had been awoken—they had finally landed on an earth plateau as the sun was just rising.

He slid down the side of the bison and looked around. The other two airships were parked beside the bison and airbenders were spilling out onto the plateau. He sat at the back of the group, flanked by Mako and Bolin. Standing in front of the group and speaking to them were Tenzin and Korra. While Tenzin talked, Kai looked up and saw two people standing by one of the airships—one was a woman, dressed in metal, and the other was white-bearded man in red robes.

"Who's that?" Kai asked, looking at the old man.

"Ohh, I know who _that_ is," Bolin breathed. "It's Prince Yukin—the Fire Lord's brother—Lord Zuko's son."

"Fire Lord?" Kai asked slowly. "Why is he here?"

"I don't know," Mako muttered. "He came with Lin. He hasn't told us why."

Kai started as the man's yellow eyes met his and the old man smiled and winked.

OA

The Avatar was in this group—Yukin could feel it. After his mother had died, Yukin had told his father of his mother's last wish. Lord Zuko had then gone to the White Lotus, who were busy caring for the light Avatar—they wouldn't agree to find the other one. So, Yukin had taken it upon himself to complete this task.

For the past thirteen years, he had been immersing himself in meditation and spirit-feeling. After many sessions with Katara and Tenzin, Aang's son, Yukin had managed to connect to the Spirit World and talk with his great uncle, Iroh, and his mother. After then, he had been able to fully feel everyone's spiritual energy. The better he knew someone, the more specifically he could feel their signature.

Avatar Korra, standing beside Tenzin, was shining white like a ray of brilliant hope. The young daughter of Tenzin, who was hanging near the bison, was burning like a gentle ray of sunshine. They were the two with the strongest energy. After them was Tenzin, who was pulsing softly like the waves of an ocean. At the same time, he could feel darkness lingering in the area. Because he did not know its owner, he could not pinpoint whose it was.

As Yukin's eyes roamed over the group, he met the eyes of a young boy at the back. He smiled and winked as the boy hastily tried to pretend he hadn't been looking at him. He turned back to look at Tenzin, who had stopped addressing the group and was talking to Korra. When they stopped talking, he walked over to speak to Tenzin.

"He's in this group," Yukin told Tenzin, who had been told briefly about everything in hushed whispers before they had set off to rescue the airbenders.

"Who is?" Korra asked with curiosity.

"Avatar Korra, can you give us a moment?" Yukin asked.

Korra started, but complied nevertheless.

"He's here?" Tenzin asked.

"I can feel it," the old man replied, nodding. "If you don't mind, I would like to come with you—to find out which one it is and help them with their spiritual side."

"Of course!" Tenzin nodded. "It would be my pleasure."

"Thank you," Yukin smiled, clapping his much younger (well, by only ten years) unofficial brother on the back. "I'm sure we'll all get along swimmingly."

* * *

 **Up next: Original Airbenders...ish. I'm still loosely following the series, but obviously it's gonna go a bit different from canon because Korra is not the main character of the story (although she is central to most parts of it, so don't worry ;) Also, keep in mind that if Kai ever steals the lime light of something that happens in canon, he _is_ the main character, so it's natural for me to want to test _him_ and not Korra.**

 **~LittleMissMycroft**


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